Police officers mounted a protest against a new round of public-sector cuts outside the finance ministry in Athens today.

Shouting slogans and displaying banners, the trade union police activists were joined in the demonstration by firefighters and coastguards.

Police associations staged the protest to highlight the danger of a massive new Greek austerity package that the coalition government says that it needs to continue receiving bailout installments.

Meanwhile, in Cape Town, former Greek prime minister George Papandreou told the 24th conference of the Socialist International that his country might have avoided a bailout if the economy had not been robbed by funds funnelled to tax havens.

“Whether it is in developed or developing nations, it is our citizens that are being robbed,” he said, saying that this “plain robbery” denied governments the capacity to invest in welfare and education.

“Greece is suffering from this. Had this alone been tackled, Greece would have most likely never have needed a bailout.

“Had this alone been tackled”: Mr Papandreou might have tackled that while he was still in government. However, he then did not tackle that, as his administration was full of Thatcherite economic delusions; like other governing European Social Democrat parties then.

7 thoughts on “Greeks keep fighting austerity”

Well, yes, no doubt in my mind that Thatcherite ideology was an extremely destructive one, but bad governance is also. I just hate all the stories about ”lazy Greeks” etc, and have zero faith in politicians protecting bankers who are the real thieves.